Question about Molting

We plan on getting Rhode Island Red laying hens in the Spring, which will be our first attempt at having backyard chickens. My question is about the molting process. If I buy, say 6 laying hens, and then 6 months later, buy 6 more laying hens, will the chickens go through the molting process at the same time? I was wondering if the the ages of the hens are different, then perhaps we would continue to get eggs if the chickens molt at different times.

Hello and Welcome to BYC! Usually pullets (especially of commercial egg layers like sex links or white leghorns) will lay through their first winter and molt their second. A lot of people stagger their flock by thirds like you say, getting 1/3 new chicks every spring with the assumption that those will lay through the winter while the older ones are molting, and culling the oldest 1/3 when they quit laying in the fall.

Hello and Welcome to BYC! Usually pullets (especially of commercial egg layers like sex links or white leghorns) will lay through their first winter and molt their second. A lot of people stagger their flock by thirds like you say, getting 1/3 new chicks every spring with the assumption that those will lay through the winter while the older ones are molting, and culling the oldest 1/3 when they quit laying in the fall.

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Kelsie is correct. As we experienced last year, our new pullets did not molt, but the hens that were over a year old did.